


Once I was Fourteen Years Old/My Master Said to Me

by HkHk



Series: Skyguy and Snips [2]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2018-06-03 18:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6621901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HkHk/pseuds/HkHk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You would have never made it as Kenobi's apprentice," Vader half turned, a contemplative look on his face. "But you might as mine."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ahsoka

**Author's Note:**

> The quick and dirty backstory is that Obi-Wan never takes Anakin as his padawan and someone else with a great deal of interest decided to take the nine year old boy under his wing.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the beginning...

It starts with a rejection.

"I am sorry, little one, but I am not taking any padawans." 

Ahsoka stared at the ground in silence, her hopes and dreams crumbling before her. 

General Kenobi kneels down and smiles kindly at her. "Do not worry, there will be other masters. You are very skilled for your age. I am certain that someone else will take you in." 

It is the kindest and most painful rejection she had ever felt. 

"Yes, Master. Thank you Master." 

For fourteen year old Ahsoka it felt as if the rug had been pulled out from under her feet. She had been so excited and so hopeful when Master Yoda gave her the message. Master Kenobi was the only Jedi to ever defeat a Sith and he never took a padawan and everyone hoped that they would become that lucky hopeful. This was supposed to be her big chance. 

"You alright, kid?" 

Ahsoka glanced up, and nodded. "I'm fine." 

"You didn't look fine." The clone trooper reached out with a hand. "Captain Rex." 

"Ahsoka Tano." She shook his hand.

"I saw what you did at Christophsis. Nice work for a greenie." 

"Thanks...I think." 

His head tilted to the side, the helmet hiding a smile that she was certain he had. "Don't worry kid, you'll get your chance. The war isn't over, not for a long shot." 

 "I'm not-" Ahsoka stops, letting out a sigh as she crossed her arms across her chest. "I wasn't concerned about that." 

"What's going on in your head then? If you don't mind me asking Ma'am." 

"Ever feel as if you're waiting for someone? And every day feels emptier without them?" 

Rex cocked his head in questioning. 

"I thought I met that person today." 

"Judging by how you look, you didn't." 

"No." Ahsoka let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She had been so certain. "I didn't." 

It felt right to be there, in the thick of it, leaping around droids and destroying them. It felt right to fight alongside Master Kenobi. Yet, there was still this emptiness, this presence that was supposed to be there but wasn't. Many times she had turned as if someone was right by her side. But there was nobody there.

Naught a ghost nor a specter. 

Just this feeling that she was meant for something else, something greater than being stuck in the Jedi Temple. 

"We should be meeting up at the rendezvous point in a few hours, how about you join myself and the boys? I'm sure they'd like to meet the person who fought with them." Captain Rex tugged his helmet off his head, revealing a face identical to every other clone trooper. "It'd be fun, unless Jedi don't play games." 

Ahsoka stood, a small smirk on her face. "We're Jedi. We don't play games. We win them."  

 


	2. Vader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader is nonplussed.

Captain Rex was a good soldier. He obeyed orders.

"Go!" Commander Tano pointed to the escape pods. "I'll hold them off."

Every fire of his being wanted to obey, he wanted to be a good soldier. "I'm not leaving you." The words came unbidden from his lips without a second thought. 

He was _not_ going to let her do this on her own. She was not going to die on his watch.

She looked over her shoulder at him and it struck him suddenly, this was her plan. This was her last ditch effort to save their lives. She was fully prepared to die for them.

"No!" Rex took a step forward, hand reaching out. Then he was thrown back and the blast doors closed even as he scrambled to his feet, his fists slamming against the metal. "Commander!" 

It was no use, they were already being jettisoned, moving further and further away.

* * *

 

Vader stepped around the corpses, following the trail of destruction of what used to be a republic transporter. His own ship had intercepted the distress beacon and have arrived far earlier than any republic ship. When they had arrived, their sensors had detected one life form. 

He placed a gloved hand on the wall tracing the gouge in the metal. So there was a Jedi present. Or were. 

Even while extending his force senses, he could barely feel the life form. Either he or she was dying or in a deep healing trance. 

"Sir, we found someone." 

"Who is it?" 

"It's a Jedi sir." 

It only took a minute for him to find his troops and the Jedi in question. On the ground before his squad lied a small figure. The Jedi was a female, Togruta and young. Younger than he expected judging by the devastation she had left behind. With a simple force pull her lightsaber flew to his hand and he hooked it next to his own lightsaber. Just one? Where was the master?

Vader knelt down next to her body and placed his hand against her chest. Just an inch above her collar bone, there was a circular burn against her skin where a blaster bolt found its mark.

He could feel her force presence faint as it was.

If he did nothing, she would die in an hour or so. 

"Sir?" 

His hand slipped under her knees and behind her shoulders and with a single movement, he had her in his arms. "Prep the med bay." 

"Sir." 

She was so light in his arms, and so cold. 

He carried her all the way to his shuttle and then to his ship. She did not stir, barely breathing, eyes closed. The medical team was ready for them when they disembarked in the hanger bay. 

It wasn't until she was placed into the bacta tank did he leave her side. Only then did he return to his quarters. Only then in the safety of his quarters did Vader let his composure drop. He calmly walked over to his desk, sat down, and stared blankly at the screen.

"I made a mistake." He announced to the empty room. 

What was he going to do with a Jedi? With a child no less. Nothing, that's what. 

His gaze shifted from the screen to the blinking light on the console. Had anyone been watching they would have seen a startling transformation. The steely hard gaze softened and an uncharacteristic smile formed on the man's face. He looked younger and far more approachable. 

A video feed appeared on the screen. The backdrop was of a beige wall and at the forefront was an older woman with graying hair. 

Vader grinned then, a spark of joy flaring up inside his carefully constructed shields. "Mom." 

"Hello, Ani."


	3. Ahsoka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka meets Vader.

Ahsoka awakens to bright lights and sits up, shivering, her brain still groggy from being awoken so suddenly. She was alive? She ran a hand along her shoulder, her fingertips finding a puckered scar, raised and still tender. 

"It'll fade in time." 

A male voice spoke suddenly from the other side of the room, not a voice she recognized. Ahsoka turned her head, her eyes finding the speaker. Her fingers lingered on the scar questioningly as if to ask, why did you save me? But there were more important things to be sussed out. 

"Who are you?" 

He was decidedly human with  brown hair and sharp cheekbones. There was a scar near his eyebrow and his eyes were a frigid blue. He wore dark clothes, a mix of black and black. Her gaze was drawn immediately to his lightsaber. His smile was crooked. He does not answer her. 

Ahsoka bares her teeth in an un-jedi like manner. She's already ran a quick check of her own faculties and planned a way to clamber to her feet and out the door. If he chooses not to kill her right then and there. It doesn't take a genius to sense where he lied in the spectrum between light and dark. 

He leans forward, a hand on his knee, a thoughtful expression on his face. "How old are you?" 

Ahsoka blinks at that, taken aback of the question and she answers without thinking. "Fourteen." 

She sees it in his eyes, pity and sympathy and for an irrational moment Ahsoka was angry. Yes, she was fourteen. Yes, she was short for her age and species and thin as well. But she was still a capable Jedi. 

Five feet and a Sith between herself and possible freedom (or more enemies). Rationally she knew couldn't take him. Not with the way she was now. But she tries anyways. 

He catches her with the Force, and she hovers in the air, helpless. 

A medical droid putters into the room and injects her leg with something that makes the room grow black around the edges. She's put down with a gentleness that mystifies her but in a few seconds Ahsoka thinks nothing at all. 

Vader remains by the bed as the medical droid inspects the sedated Jedi. 

"Sir, I must insist you leave, you're going to agitate my patient." Drones the medical droid. "Again." 

* * *

 

After a bit of wheedling, Vader managed to secure a room for his "guest". While tampering with a medical droid was one of the first things Dooku attempted to stamp out of him, the Count was never able to rid Vader of his desire to tinker with droids. That and other undesirable qualities that the young man held dear to his heart. 

The room itself was plain with a bed and a fresher and some storage space. What was important was that it was close to his own quarters and if she tried to escape she'd have to contend with all the droids. Jedi or not, she was fourteen and tiny. Vader was confident he could keep her under his control until he decided what to do with her. Aside from killing her that is. 

The last thing he wanted to do was kill her. 

There was something about her that intrigued him. It stopped him from killing her the first time. So it would do no good to kill her now.

Really. It wouldn't. 

But it would solve a lot of problems. Already he could see what will happen, the troubles, the problems she'll cause him. He didn't even have to meditate on it. He just _knew._  

She was going to be the death of him. 

* * *

 Ahsoka woke up, again, this time she carefully sat up and spotted the young man exactly where he was the first time. This time, she could sense him. The room was as big as her quarters in the Jedi Temple and just as empty. It was also mired in the dark side. She focused on the Sith and gave him a cursory scan. 

He felt.....exceedingly normal. 

But Ahsoka didn't get as far as she did without knowing things. No one is like the persona they present. Ahsoka had once compared it to the ocean. It looked inviting and safe but it was a lie. The calm surface hid currents that threatened to drag unsuspecting people in and drown them.

The Sith before her looked at her patiently as if waiting for her to speak. 

She swallowed thickly and coughed, her mouth and throat dry. By her bedside was a glass of clear liquid. 

"It's just water." 

Probably poison. Or some hallucinogenic. There were ways to make a Jedi compliant. 

The Sith spreads his hands in a "I'm harmless" gesture.

Harmless her butt.

"I wouldn't poison you now, not after I saved your life." 

Ahsoka grunts and acknowledges that it would take a sick person to play that sort of game. Despite the dark side aura, there wasn't anything unpleasant about him. Which made her wary. She was ready for anger, for hate- for anything really. Things that her teachers taught her about the dark side. 

She picked up the glass and took a sip to parch the dryness of her throat. 

"Thank you." Ahsoka said in a quiet voice. 

Master Yoda did say to be polite. If what the Sith said was true and he did save her life....

She clutched the glass with her hand, studying the crystal clear contents before looking up at the Sith. He's still sitting there, nonchalant, his cool gaze focused on her. What was he thinking? Even if she was brave enough, she wouldn't be able to get past his shields. Even from here she could feel them. While most people had personal space, this guy had a personal room.

He could kill her without trouble and they both knew it.

Ahsoka took a deep breath. She had to survive. But how?

"My name is Ahsoka Tano." She wants to say, I'm a Jedi, but somehow she knows that would get her killed. She was in enemy territory now. 

"Vader." The Sith replies in turn. "Where is your master, little one?" 

Ahsoka nearly flinches. Right. She almost forgot. "I don't have a master." She manages after a brief silence. 

"Oh." The Sith shifts and for a brief second, he was softer. His brown hair is tousled and unkempt, the bangs falling on his eyes.  

He looks so normal and so harmless it scares her. If he could hide who he is so well, what's the say that the Sith are not working right under their noses? If she could figure out how he did it and transmit that information to the Republic, they could root out spies and end this war quicker. 

"I was supposed to be General Kenobi's padawan," Ahsoka offers. "But he..." 

Vader's eyes visibly darkened when she spoke his name. 

"He said I was too reckless and too old to be his padawan." She lied easily, drawing up her own inadequacies to fill in the blanks. Master Kenobi never said that to her. She certainly thought it. "He sent me away." 

"Kenobi...." Vader inhaled sharply, an almost imperceptible growl in his voice. "He tends to do that with insignificant life forms." 

The words were spat out, a flicker of rage crossing his face. 

He stands suddenly. "Get some rest." 

The lights dims when he exits, leaving Ahsoka in the dark and empty room. 

In the darkness, she shivers and wraps her arms around her legs and hugs herself. 

What has she gotten herself into now?

 


	4. Vader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thinking and dreaming and thinking.

He had to get out of that room. He had to clear his head. 

The moment she mentioned Kenobi, old memories and long dead feelings rushed to to the forefront of his mind and it made him angry. It made him furious that after all this time he was unable to _let go_. Vader leaned an arm against the durasteel wall and covered his face with one hand. It took him a few minutes to regain his composure. It took a few minutes for his fingers to unfurl from the fists they made. Eventually  he managed to be the picture of calm and detached interest. 

He finally walked back to his room and collapsed into a chair. 

"Kenobi." Vader growled into the emptiness. 

Again, sharp and bitter feelings surged into his chest and clawed their way up his throat. He was past this, wasn't he? This mindless fury? This helplessness to his emotions?

He was stronger than this. 

After a few seconds of meditation, he was never good at it, Vader got up and paced. What was he going to do with her? She could not just be his prisoner. Dooku would not be happy (not that Vader cared). His own master would not be pleased either. The Sith were backstabbers by nature and this would be seen as a power grab or at the very least position jockeying. Vader had tried his best to stay out of it. He had no stomach for political bullshit. But he may have to play the game. 

How else was he going to protect her? 

Who knows what Dooku may do. Or Ventress. 

Or Sidious for that matter. 

Vader stopped mid stride, hands by his side. He had an idea. It was ridiculous and reckless. But it was the only way short of letting her go and that would cause its own problems. But was he ready? 

He had never taken an apprentice before. 

* * *

 

Ahsoka didn't sleep. The adrenaline pumping through her body kept her alert and awake. She was stuck behind enemy lines and she had to find a way out. She could escape the room but then where would she go? Judging by the soft humming of engines, she was in a ship and possibly in hyperspace. There was no where she could escape. 

This was the _best_ excursion she had ever. She should have never left the Temple. 

Ahsoka fell back on the bed with a groan. She resisted the urge to kick her legs out like some frustrated child. She was a Jedi and Jedi do not lose their composure in the face of difficulty. They raised to meet the challenge and learned something out of it. Some sort of spiritual wisdom that would be used later. 

If she was a Jedi Master she'd know what to do. 

But she wasn't, was she? Just a lost youngling with no master. 

The door chimed and she quickly sat up, tense once more, ready for action.

To her surprise, it was that Sith guy. He was carrying a tray of food. At the sight of it, her stomach gurgled at her. The Sith guy raised an eyebrow and walked over to her, his long strides carrying him across the room quickly. There was some sort of rations on the plate as well as milk. He stopped a foot away from her, tray in hand, all six feet of him. 

"Hungry?" 

Her stomach growled again. This time she couldn't hide her embarrassment. 

"Yes." 

"Here. Not poisoned, I promise." He placed the tray down on the desk next to the bed. "See?" Without much fanfare, he picked up a piece of cooked meat and shoved it into his mouth. More like shoveled it. 

He ate like a person who didn't know when his next meal would come from. She could see just how young he was, perhaps only a few years older than her. For a brief second, she wondered who he was. She wondered where he came from. This enigma wrapped in black and cold grabbed another piece of meat and ate it. 

She got the hint. 

Ahsoka ate her meal in silence, using a fork like a normal person, occasionally glancing up to see the Sith guy staring at her. He had such an intense stare and such clear blue eyes. It was like staring at the sky on a cloudless day. It was unnerving. It scared her. Seeing him and not being able to sense his intent terrified her. 

"I want you to be my apprentice." Sithguy said suddenly. 

She nearly choked on her mouthful of milk. 

"You won't be able to leave this ship." He smiled and there was no joy in it, simply grim determination. "Well, you could but it would be in a box." 

There was nothing she could say to that. 

"I'm sure you don't want to die." 

Her heart hammered a staccato beat in her throat. 

"You wouldn't have survived as Kenobi's apprentice, he tends to fail them." Sith guy said flatly. "People die around him." 

A part of her wanted to raise up to Master Kenobi's defense but she dared not to. A part of her wondered what he was referring to. 

"So what do you say? Will you be my apprentice?" 

Finally, she found her voice. "Why?" 

"Will you be my apprentice?" 

There was a terse tenseness in his voice, in the tightness of his facial expression of his face that clued her in that this would be the last time he would ask. 

What should she do? What would Yoda think of her? What of Master Plo Kloon? 

"Yes. " Her voice was as quiet and as small as she felt. 

"Good." His eyes, as brilliant as they were, were colder than space. "We begin your training now." 

 


	5. Interlude: Padme and Kenobi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't think Plo Koon is too happy that Ahsoka is missing.

"She's missing?" 

"Yes, sir." Rex stood with his back straight and his eyes facing forward, as General Plo Koon spoke to him. The clone captain tracked the Jedi Master's movements with his eyes and also to attempt to get some feeling as to how angry he would be. Not that he could reliably guess. Having a mask that blocks out your facial features makes it a bit harder to judge emotional states. "We returned with a retrieval team but when we boarded, she was gone. Someone else got to her before us." 

"What makes you think that?" 

"We found trace energy readings of another ship. It left shortly after it jumped into the area. We found where she may have fallen but there is no body. Sir." 

Now, General Plo Koon's companion was much easier to read. General Kenobi always had a contemplative look on his face. He also appeared much older than he was, as if some great event aged him beyond his physical appearance. The Jedi had long ginger hair that was tied back and an immaculate beard. He was a solid fighter, defensive in his actions and his movements. One of the better Jedi Rex had the honor to fight with. 

"This is troubling. Perhaps if she-" There was a sharp edge to General Kenobi's gaze. "Padawan Tano would not have been in danger if she had remained planetside." 

"With all due respect sir, those pirates were waiting for us. If it weren't for her, my men and myself wouldn't be here. They knew how to disable our ship and how to catch us unaware. No doubt they were working for the Separatists. There is no way pirates would have able to take us." 

"Captain Rex is correct. After reading the report I came to the same conclusion. Still, it troubles me that we have yet to hear of it. So far, there hasn't been any word of a Jedi being captured. Count Dooku wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this." General Plo Koon looked at Rex. "Thank you Captain." 

Rex nodded, saluted the Jedi and then departed. 

"What of your contact, Master Kenobi?" Master Plo Koon asked once the clone captain left the room. 

"Nothing yet." Kenobi rubbed his beard with one hand, " Master Plo Koon I do wish to apologize. I turned Padawan Tano away rashly and now- " 

"It is not your fault. Not everything is." Plo Koon replied stoically. "Master Yoda made the decision to have go out onto the battlefield, to become your padawan, but in the end, it is your choice but not your fault. Things happen for a reason, whether they be good or bad." 

Kenobi made a very un-Jedi like noise. 

"I found Ahsoka and I watched her progress. She-" An air of sadness filled the room. "I have much hope for her future." 

"It's happening all over again." Master Kenobi said softly. "The tragedy that claimed those lives." 

"Mere coincidence. What happened to the boy..." 

"His name was Anakin and I turned him away. Just like Ahsoka." Wrapped in his grief and his own self inflicted guilt Kenobi was unreachable. He manages it well, but there are moments when the mask cracks and reveals what lies underneath. It doesn't happen often and the stresses of the war was making it more apparent. 

"She's not gone, Obi-Wan. We will find her. She will not be easy to hide. Her status as a Jedi marks her and saves her." Plo Koon looked out to the blackness of space. "I am certain that she will be able to take care of herself. She learned her lessons well at the Temple. I do recall you taught one of her classes."

"I remember that as well. Younglings were always precious."

"You enjoyed teaching."

"Yes. I do. When the war is over, I'll be returning to my classroom. I had my taste of war." Obi-Wan folded his arms across his chest. "The entire affair leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We are not soldiers." 

"Do you believe that the Jedi should have remained removed from the war? Even after the battle of Geonosis?" 

"We're being manipulated Master." 

"Yes we are." To Obi-Wan's complete surprise, the other Jedi agreed with him. "The Council is attempting to find out what or who it is doing the manipulating. Even as the battles rage across the stars, our diplomats and investigators are trying to find the truth. There are underlying concerns as to why the Separatist faction was created and they do have legitimate concerns. We are attempting to forge a peace or at the very least a cease fire. War benefits no one but the weapons manufactures." 

"And the Sith." 

* * *

Padme Amidala, former queen and now Senator, hovered uncertainly in a back ally of Coruscant. It was the last place any respectable person should be, but it was where her contact said the next message would be sent. It was a dangerous game she was playing. It was only a few years ago, just about the start of the war, when she started getting strange messages from an anonymous source. These messages were very short. Sometimes they were weapons schematics or a simple message warning her of what was to come. Initially she had wanted to hand this information over to someone else, someone far more capable than just a Senator. But for some reason, she didn't. She did express her concerns and passed the word to the Jedi through Master Kenobi. More often than not, he would accept her message and actually act on it. The Senate, she found, was frustratingly slow. 

Master Kenobi, thankfully, didn't question her on her strange and most likely odd questions. She didn't offer any information. That was the point of a secret informant. They didn't want to be known. 

Whoever contacted her did so with a reason. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was just a Senator. Whatever the reason was, this mysterious person kept in contact. In time, she sent her own. Just small things, a person who has gone missing or a question about a planet. She would send it and a few days later or sometime hours, she would be given a response. Once in a while, an actual package would be waiting for her.

There was a period of time in which there were no messages. Perhaps her informant had been captured and they were killed. Without knowing the identity there was no way she could give anyone specific instructions to not kill that one person. Such was the peril of having an unknown informant. She had to hope that her informant lives and she sincerely hopes it isn't Dooku because that would be very confusing and-

No, it'd just be confusing. 

She waited in the dark, with her pistol of course, and watched the lone console. It was quiet and that was unnerving. There was no one else around save for her and whatever animals that made this part of Coruscant their home, no doubt illegal animals that were smuggled past customs. She watched as the light blinked and then she checked her communicator. 

"Malevolence?" Padme mouthed. 

 


	6. Ahsoka and Vader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka attempts to be a good apprentice. *Spoilers* She's pretty bad at it. On the flip side, Vader is bad at being a teacher. It's like he was raised by wolves or something.

The rules were very simple. 

1\. Be strong

2\. Don't die

Ahsoka had so many questions but she wasn't sure if she should raise her hand and ask. Instead, she hid her gaping mouth from behind her hand and nodded her head in agreement. There had to be _more_. There had to be. It couldn't be this simple. It was as if he didn't have a plan, as if this was a spur of the moment idea and that she was an afterthought. 

Or maybe she was reading too much into this. 

In her quarters, Ahsoka meditated on her bed. It was surprisingly large and it was hers. No one else had the pass code to it aside from Sithguy. She was separated from the rest of the crew, not that she saw many people. There were a few droids but the ship seemed virtually empty. She was probably being hidden. 

But why?

Ahsoka shifted for a few minutes before unfolding her legs and getting to her feet. She could not focus her mind. Just sitting there and attempting to meditate was frustrating her. There was too much to think about for her to clear her mind. She looked up at the grate. Well, he didn't say to not wander out of her room. With a slight Force assisted jump and some physical force, Ahsoka wormed her way into the air system. 

"Bweeep." A small round droid rolled into view from around the corner. "You are not authorized in this area." 

"Where am I authorized? You didn't tell me anything!" Ahsoka snapped at the small blue droid. "How can I be your apprentice when you leave me in the dark." 

The droid made another long beep before Sithguy's voice filtered through the speaker. "Follow R3." 

After following the instructions, Ahsoka dropped into an empty hallway. The round blue droid dropped after her hovering in the air and then zipped off. She trotted after the droid while morbidly thinking to her self that this is probably not going to be the strangest thing she would ever do in her life. 

 As expected R3 sent her straight to Sithguy, some empty room with a window that opened up to void of space. The droid trilled as it settled on Sithguy's shoulder like some pet. He turned to face her. 

"What do you want Snips?" 

"Don't call me that!" She snapped back. 

"Or what?" 

Ahsoka gathered her courage as she stood tall and strong. "My name is Ahsoka Tano and I am going to kick your ass." 

"You may try." Vader grinned. 

Ahsoka barred her teeth and charged forward, thumbing her lightsaber on as she lunged. 

* * *

All in all, the training she was receiving was not what she expected. She had expected more battles to the death and the murdering of children. Instead it was almost as if she was back in the temple in the same classes. He even wanted to have her meditate for Force's sake. What kind of Sith did that? She had imagined pain and torture and the breaking of her morals. She was even preparing herself for such a task, to steady herself for what she must do in order to survive. Not deflect blaster shots from training droids.

Okay, so maybe her idle fantasies were just that, fantasies but still. _Still._  

"What use would it be in teaching you anything if you are incapable at the basics?" Sithguy's voice cut through her daydreams like a sharp knife. "I can sense your frustrations from here." 

He was leaning up against the wall all languid in his body language, as if he didn't want to be here either. As if his training of her was begrudging. What was his game? What was his goal? She didn't understand. If only he was straightforward, if only he was easily read. But then this is how the Sith hide from them was it not? In plain sight, striking in the darkness like cowards. 

Ahsoka sighed and dropped into a lower stance, her hand gripping her lightsaber in a reverse grip. She jumped up, easily clearing the ten foot distance, landing on the floating platform with ease. With a twist of her wrist she cut through the droid. It dropped in two halves with a heavy thud. 

Basics? She wasn't a youngling! Or a child fresh out of the creche. 

She took a deep steadying breath before spinning on her heels and scowled at the Sith. "How will you know if I'm good at anything if you just throw these droids at me? I'm not a child." 

_Don't baby me._

"You're just a kid." Sithguy retorted back. 

"Are you..." Ahsoka blinked. Was he...worried about her? What a weird guy. What a weird Sith. 

Sithguy sighed as he ran a hand through his thick curly hair. "You are a strange kid." 

"Says you." 

He grunted. "Sassy too." 

At that, Ahsoka cranked a small toothy grin. "I can't help it when you make it easy for me." 

For a second there was a moment of levity in the air, a strange camaraderie that lingered between them in the air. Ahsoka couldn't help but fall into a heightened state of being, a calmness created through movement. She could see that he could feel it too. Disgust wormed its way into her throat acidic against her tongue.

"We're more alike than I realized." He muttered. He sounded...surprised. 

"No we're not!" Ahsoka snapped. "You're a Sith! And I-" She froze. 

"You are my apprentice. Remember?" Sithguy smiled then, his eyes as blue as a sky on a cloudless day but without the warmth. "One day you will be Just. Like. Me." He shrugged. "Or...." 

He let her fill in the gaps. She had chosen this path and Force help her figure a way out. Or she will be a very dead Tortuga. 

She let her gaze shift to her feet. "I know." Ahsoka said quietly as if she was resigned to her fate. 

* * *

 

Vader groaned and very gently laid his face against the console. What an annoying kid. He could hurt her. He could challenge her to a spar and beat her into submission. It was what his Master did to him. Master Dooku had made sure each and every strike was a lesson, every defeat, every failure. He still bore the scars. It taught him to be strong. It showed him the value of power and how little he had. Count Dooku wanted to remove every trace of weakness from him. 

The Jedi's very existence seems to indicate Dooku's abject failure. 

He would be better off killing her and jettisoning her body. It would make his life so much easier. As tempting as it was, the idea was one borne from the sensation of failure. The girl was right. He had reviewed the halos from the only  battle she had participated in. She was very skilled for her age. Even better than he was when he was her age. Some of it seemed self taught, the reverse grip was most likely a habit. He would have to break her of it. 

Vader mulled over the halos as he began to write up lesson plans. 

* * *

This was so much better. Ahsoka weaved around the droids a feral grin on her face. This was _so_ much better.

For one thing, she couldn't see a damn thing, trusting only on the Force and her montreals. She could hear roughly a dozen droids and their blasters were not on stun. She learned that lesson as one grazed her shoulder. Okay, so maybe she should wear more protective clothing and not just the will of the Force. For all she knows, the Force could will it she die in a hail of blaster fire. 

She deflected one shot as she darted forward and landed on the droid's shoulders. With a quick jerk she separated the head from the shoulder and then jumped onto another one, plunging her lightsaber into it with one sharp movement. Droids were so dumb. Just a bunch of bolts walking around going Roger Roger.

Ahsoka spun her lightsaber in an arc and heard the triumphant sound of a lightsaber going through metal. With the blindfold on all her other senses were heightened. 

She finished off the last droid with a flourish. 

Now this was fun.


	7. Mechanic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader teaches Ahsoka something that has nothing to do with being a Sith.
> 
> Also, merry christmas! Happy holidays! Eat all the food! Ignore all the in-laws!

Vader stared at the images and words dancing across his screen. He had someone copy all of Ahsoka's records and a few other individuals as to redirect the Republic's eyes. The rest of the information was sold to various interested agents. The universe was vast and the Jedi were but one of the intriguing specimens that existed. He almost fell into one of those hands a long time ago. No matter where one was, there was always someone who was much more fortunate and had much more money and there was always the ones was not. 

His chains may be invisible but they weigh on his limbs all the same. 

Ahsoka's grades demonstrated a skilled student and a dedicated one. She was the last of her creche mates to leave her Clan. He skimmed over her history and the notes left by each of her teachers. If there was one thing he would be grateful for, it would be the meticulous notes. A light on his console began blinking.  

"What do you want, Ventress?" 

The sneering woman's face appeared over his console. "Not to see your ugly face, but what can a girl do?" 

"Die." 

Ventress smirked. "In your dreams, boy." 

"You look ruffled, hard to tell since you don't have hair, what happened? Did Kenobi get out of your ill-conceived trap?" 

"He did. He looked more upset than usual. Your doing, I believe?" 

Vader shrugged. "Unlike you, I am not obsessed on one Jedi." 

"Right," Ventress said in a tone that said she did not believe any of the bullshit coming out of Vader's mouth. "You missed the last meeting, or rather, collective bitching. Dooku was in a rare form, even Grevious didn't say shit. Which is hilarious since it was his pet project that got destroyed by the Republic." 

It says a lot about their organization when all they do is gripe. Or maybe that was just Ventress.  

"Oh?" Vader shifted back, examining the dirt under his fingernails. "And this involved me how?" 

"Someone is giving the Republic information. I think it is a mole. Count Dooku has given me leeway to track down and torture this so-called informant." 

"Again, I care why?" 

"I figured you would want to go back into Dooku's graces after the Hutt incident." Ventress looked smug. "You couldn't even kidnap a child." 

"You got beaten by a 900 year old troll." 

"You try fighting a Jedi grandmaster. Oh wait, you haven't. You barely engage with the Jedi as it is!" 

"It isn't my fault I am a far better pilot than you are!" 

"You are just scared to fight Kenobi." 

Vader slammed his fist on his desk and hissed," I am not scared of him." 

"Then prove it. Get out from your dark hole and go kill some Jedi." Ventress glanced over her shoulder before shifting her attention back to him. "Speaking of Jedi, does Dooku know you're hiding a pubescent Jedi on your ship?" 

* * *

Amazingly, it was not that hard to get Ventress off topic regarding the Jedi he had on his ship. She just smirked at him before disconnecting the call. She didn't even give him time to lie. Which makes him wonder what she is planning. More so on who she has feeding her information about his whereabouts and doings. He had a mostly robotic crew for a reason, it is harder to be betrayed by beings who are hard coded to serve him. 

It was time to run a sweep of his ship for bugs. Might even rope the Jedi to do some of the grunt work.

"What are we doing? It's a nice workshop, even nicer ship and hanger but--" Ahsoka looks around at the droids that worked mindlessly around them. Some were the standard issue Separatist droids but some were unique in their color and shape. They looked as if they were built by someone and not factory made. Frankly, they looked dingy. But then, that would make it easier for them to slip behind enemy lines. Droids were numerous and often ignored, a very unassuming droid could easily sneak into a building and shut the perimeter defenses down.  

From her short time on the ship, Ahsoka had surmised that there were only a few other living people on the vessel aside from her and Vader. Of the living sentient people, there was only two force sensitive people on board.  It didn't make sense. Unless Vader was hiding her from his allies. Which totally didn't make any sense. Or, he was just embarrassed and didn't want to reveal her existence yet until he was certain she was someone he could vouch for. Either way, it gave her time to think and plan. 

"Why would I need to know this? I mean, I already have a decent grasp of mechanics and electronics. I took classes." 

"In the Jedi Academy?" Sithguy stopped before a magnificent black and red starship. 

"Well, yeah. They want the Jedi to be well-rounded. We would be completely useless if we couldn't fix a broken starship or life support. You can't fix the world with just a lightsaber and sternly placed words." Ahsoka said, walking around the starship, her fingers barely grazing the starship. "It's beautiful." 

"She is. I built her myself. I always had a knack for machines. It helps me focus. Kind of like how fighting keeps you focused." 

Ahsoka crooked an eyebrow at the statement. "I use meditation to give myself focus." 

"So you say." Sithguy rolled his eyes. "I know how you look when you fight and how you feel in the Force. You're young and restless, being in motion lets you hone your senses. It's a part of who you are." 

Ahsoka gave Sithguy a look before rolling her eyes. "Wow, you sound like one of the instructors in the temple...." She trailed off thoughtfully as she walked around the starship. For the past few days she had been mulling over what to do after the initial shock and fear had passed. If anything, she would need to bring back information when she escapes. Perhaps through Sithguy, she would be able to help in the war effort. Even if Master Kenobi did not choose her, she would still be able to contribute. It must be what the force wills of her when it sent her along this path. 

"Take this." A set of goggles flew over to her. "You'll need it to shield your eyes." 

She caught it in one hand. "What are we doing?" 

"Fixing droids, running some system diagnostics. A break from all the training we have been doing." 

Now, wasn't that a sight? Sithguy looked utterly ridiculous with those welding goggles on his forehead, a blow torch in one hand. It was hard to remember that he was an enemy. It helped that he was never angry towards her or hurt her. 

"Got new tricks to teach me?" 

"Of course. After I am done, you'll be one of the best mechanics in the galaxy. Something to fall back onto in case the Jedi thing doesn't work out." 

He sounded so flippant and yet, thoughtful. As if he had considered this before. Her fate. The end state of his plans. All of this kindness had made her forget the severity of her situation. 

Ahsoka affixed a slight smile on her face as she follows his guidance. She calms her mind and lets herself focus on the present.

If she dies, she dies.

If the Force wills it. 

There was no death, there is the Force.


End file.
